Is being a Male nurse weird?

Nurses Men

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Hey everyone. I will be training to become an RN soon. I am an african american. I have read some articles and a few of them scared me about being a nurse just because your a guy. They say its more of a womans job but those were based on opinion. Can someone please tell me of male nurses are common today? Thank you.

there are some professions that are seen as female professions by society (nursing, teaching) and others that are seen as male professions (construction/truck driving) and all of those professions have exceptions. i know male nurses and i've known female construction workers. another stereotype is that male nurses are gay. i DO know a lot of homosexual male nurses (and CNAs) and many males are assumed to be "the doctor" by patients because of the assumption that nurses are women.

it's not "weird" though. i know several heterosexual males who are good nurses. in fact, i was encouraging my ex (my daughter's father) to think about being a nurse just a few weeks ago. i think males who enter a field that's overpopulated by women are making a smart move - it's pretty much guaranteed job security.

Specializes in ER/ICU/STICU.

I think they are fairly common, but I think they are more common in the ER and ICU's. The only time I felt weird being a guy was in nursing school during my OB rotation. Even as you come across situations in the future that might seem weird, I find that as long as you remain professional and polite it never becomes weird.

Specializes in Emergency & Trauma/Adult ICU.

Not weird at all -- about 1/4 of the nurses in my dept. are male.

As for the gay stereotype ... it's just that a stereotype, and it's been greatly diminished from the past. For whatever it's worth ... all of the (many) male nurses I've worked with have been heterosexual (at least outwardly), while 4 of the female nurses I've worked with are openly gay. So there you go.

Specializes in ICU & ED.

I don't think so! That being said, male nurses are still the minority. If you do find yourself explaining your career choice in reference to your gender, I think it will be to people who are not in the healthcare field. I have the pleasure of training nurses for my hospital system, and about 10-15% of my students are men. I have noticed that male nurses tend to gravitate towards certain areas of nursing, many of the men I work with are in the ED, ICU, OR, and a few are in Ortho.

This is just my experience. I think if you want to be a nurse, or already know you ARE a nurse, GO FOR IT.

Specializes in Med Surg, ER, OR.

Well, if you are looking for a yes, then sure, and if you are looking for a no, then sure, too. We men had to take the same coursework as the females in our profession, and although we are a minority in this field, i can guarantee you that we take great pride in our job. Not necessarily in being a man, but if you are sick and require the services of our healthcare system, most could care less what sex is caring for them. We have female nurses, male nurses, female docs, and male docs, just like we have female and male police officers.

Since you have already signed up, I would say continue in that direction. Will you get remarks for being a male nurse? Yes. Period. I have worked as a nurse for 3 years and still hear remarks, and know I will continue to. I have worked with male nurses who have been doing this for 15 years and still get crass remarks from patients or from docs who feel that he should have gone farther because he is older. Age, sex, class, etc. mean nothing. If your heart desires it, go for it!

http://www.minoritynurse.com/men-nursing/men-nursing

Why did you feel weird during your OB rotation?

Specializes in pediatrics, public health.

Nursing is definitely still a female dominated profession, but less so than it used to be. There were 7 men in my nursing school class of 48 students -- I understand that's a fairly typical percentage. One was an African American male. In my first nursing job in a pediatric hospital, there were one or two male nurses on each shift, out of about 12 or so nurseson the roster for each of those shifts.

Where I work now, as a public health nurse working with foster kids, there is one male nurse out of about 8 or 10 of us.

I've worked in both male and femaled dominated professions myself (I'm female). I don't think the fact that a particular profession is dominated by one gender or the other should stop you from working in that profession if it's what you want to do.

So, the short answer to your question is "No", being a male nurse is not weird!

Thanks for all of your help! I feel a lot better now! I will certainly move on! :)

Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.

I have moved this thread to the male nursing forum as you will get a lot of support from your male collegues in here.

I will add that I have seen an increase in male nurses over the past 22 yrs, they are a respected and valuable member of the team.

Like everything you get the good and the bad, just be sensitive remember men 9 times out of 10 dont care who looks after them!

Women aren't as predictable but you can disarm them with charm

The only one who can make it "weird" is you. Be confident in what you're doing and don't allow the opinion of your peers influence your decisions. If you think it's weird--that will be apparent in how you present yourself and how you explain what it is you do. As an African American male nurse, I think you would be in an awesome position to positively influence the lives of people that others may not be able to reach. Go for it.

There are tons of male nurses in my area! It's become more popular and accepted over the years. It never occurs to most of us to think about the gender difference. If family or friends start talking about male nurse stereotypes, you will just have to correct them with facts. :)

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